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House of Jerome
The House of Jerome is a kingdom occupying the vast majority of the continent of Kraitafall. Initially founded by Angus Jerome, the nation is home to many humans, dwarves, and kobolds. Helping to rule the nation are various Lords, each of which have been given a piece of the nation (Referred to as an 'Estate') to rule. Recent events involving the House include the recognition of the Gutharian Knights as a valid political entity and the Malar Crisis. Initial Founding Kraitafall was not an unknown land; the Kingdom of Vareth has attempted to settle there since 201 AC, where the mayor of Ludbane, a small town located near the southern edge of the Wishbone Isthmus. He resettled his people northward in an attempt to escape the swarms of locusts that had plagued the northern and eastern parts of Vareth at that time ("The Year of the Swarm") to found what would eventually become the Wishbone Trading Post. This initial expansion survived for seven months, as chronicled by the mayor in his personal journal. By the end, the forest and the beasts within it claimed enough lives to force the survivors to flee back south to Vareth. During the next 150 years, various expeditions and settlement attempts would be launched, either self funded or sponsored by nobles eager to expand and acquire more territory. This includes the 12th King's Army scouting expedition in 296 AC, a temporary trading port established by pre-Kalah Emirate businesses which lasted from 300 AC to 302 AC, and Jervis the Pathfinders' last expedition in 323 AC. All of these ventures saw various levels of success, but none were considered truly successful until Angus Jerome's crusade in 366 AC. The crusade consisted of only a 150 men, led by Angus Jerome, a decorated commander who had recently stepped down from his post in the 2nd King's Army. Accompanying him was Fa'ein, a female elf who was incredibly proficient in recognizing arcana and destroying it. In early 366 AC, Jerome's party set north from Ludbane, wanting to reclaim the Trading Post which was lost more than 150 years earlier. They quickly encountered trouble; packs of wolves would stalk them in the night, trees seemed to block every clear path they could find, and as they went further into Kraitafall, scouts started reporting sightings of humanoids within the thicket. In 367 AC, Angus made first contact with these humanoids. The Dyrtani Empire had apparently occupied Kraitafall shortly after Creation; these people had the ability to bend nature to their will, and such had used it to protect themselves from the outside world, and, more curiously, from the mountains. After a few weeks of diplomacy, the Dyrtani reluctantly shared that within the mountains resided an Ancient Black Dragon named Atha. She considered the continent to be hers, but allowed the Dyrtani and a tribe of dwarves to live as her subjects. The Dyrtani confessed that they grew tired of the tension between them and the dragon, and offered to aid Jerome in killing it in exchange for land. Angus agreed, and in late 367 AC a combined force of around 500, consisting of around 350 Dyrtani soldiers, 100 of the original expeditionary party, and 50 reinforcements who arrived from the Varethian sponsors in the south, made a push towards the Kraitafall mountains to confront the dragon. This attack would kill most of the soldiers, but at the end, Angus personally slew Atha and thus released the land from her rule. This action would eventually lead to him being considered the King of the newly created House of Jerome. The first decade of rule was amicable; the Dyrtani and the House were good friends, and Angus' control expanded with every new wave of immigrants from the south. By 379 AC, however, tensions started flaring. Accounts of Jeromians attacking Dyrtani lands for expansion led to a standoff between a legion of Dyrtani and the Kingsguard in Jerome's Throne. This eventually spilled into the Culling War of 379 - with the help of the recently founded Cursebreakers led by Fa'ein, the House was able to eliminate the arcane defenses and conquer vast swathes of Dyrtani territory. By 380 AC, the Dyrtani were pushed back to the northwestern reaches of Kraitafall, where a year long stalemate eventually resulted in a white peace between the nations. Jerome the Second & the Third On 412 AC, Angus passed away peacefully, having established a fairly secure nation. The House was at this point holding territories in both the eastern and western coastlines, and the silver and iron mines in the mountains helped the nation amass wealth. His death was mourned in both the House and the Kingdom of Vareth; the queen Maria supposedly halted a feast mid-way to hold a vigil for the deceased King of Jerome. Angus' son, Jacob Jerome, assumed the role of King. Jacob immediately set forth an agenda focusing more on the nation's well-being rather than expanding its territories. He immediately began extensive restructuring of the army's forces - leading to continuous protests from its commanders. By 415 AC, Luther Ingramm, a commander in charge of the military at the border between the Dyrtani Empire and Jerome, openly revolted and attempted to destabilize the region. His intent was to encourage the Dyrtani to take up arms against the kingdom and fight back. However, the revolt was quelled with a joint force made up of druids from the empire and Jeromian soldiers, the first recorded friendly interaction between the two kingdoms ever since the Culling War. Through his 73 year reign, Jacob heard rumors of an artifact located deep within the Kraitafall Mountains. This artifact was said to have been worn around Atha's neck the day she was slain by Angus. Advisors would note that the King started to become ever increasingly obsessed with this artifact; several handmaidens complained of the King mumbling about it while wandering the halls. As the king's madness became ever increasing, his advisors started to manage the kingdom for him, along with beginning to plan for the reign of Horold Jerome. In early 485 AC, Jacob mounted an expedition into the Kraitafall Mountains. He believed that he could find Atha's artifact somewhere within the endless frozen peaks and valleys, and took around 200 men with him. He left in the spring, promising to return within the month. Instead, no word came from the expedition until the late fall of 485, where a small party rode back into Jerome's Throne, and breathlessly reported that the King had been lost along with much of the expeditionary force. They were unable to report the cause of the King's disappearance. In late 485 AC, at the age of 10, Horold was crowned to be the third King of Jerome. His short reign has already been filled with strife - around the same time, the Gutharian Knights declared war on the country by launching an offensive intended to kill Joseph Lytton, the lord controlling Estate Coulson. Shortly after, a northern town by the name of Twinhome fell under attack by lycanthropes, nearly being consumed entirely before a small group of adventurers came to the town's rescue. Finally, in the spring of 489 AC, a Hobgoblin legion began raiding and razing parts of the country. It was due to this that the King reached out with a truce towards the Gutharians, as they both had a mutual interest in stopping the rampaging Hobgoblin horde. General Attitudes Many people who live in the House respect strong moral character and a sense of nobleness. They are quick to shun those who are dishonorable and have a disdain for doing morally questionable actions. They are hospitable to newcomers and strangers, which was the main reason why many refugees chose to go north during the Varethian Civil War. They respect most forms of magic, though they are wary of nature magic, particularly those that have Dyrtani origins. They are tolerant of most races, but half-elves and true elves have found some social ire being directed towards them, particularly in the areas close to the Dyrtani Empire borders. Notable Features * '''The Kingsguard: '''The elite Kingsguard are charged to protect their King with their lives. This service is generally considered to be either for life, or until the next Jerome takes power. They employ massive, magic-powered suits of armor to both intimidate the King's enemies and protect him from almost every kind of danger. * '''The Cursebreakers: '''Founded by Fa'ein, this group is the premier source of knowledge relating to breaking curses and disabling arcana. Though the amount of surviving members now is relatively low, their influence is felt amongst many, including the Road Knights and the Seekers. * '''Long-standing Allies: '''While they have historically remained impartial to the politics of Vareth, the House has always maintained a strong alliance with the Kingdom of Vareth. The two allies have always been strong trading partners, and they have aided each other in times of need.